


A Journey Through The Pallis Oversector

by EmiWallo



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Padawan Braids, Post-Star Wars: Attack of the Clones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-12
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2020-06-26 21:28:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19776781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EmiWallo/pseuds/EmiWallo
Summary: As the Clone Wars rages on, there is little indication of the conflict between The Grand Army of the Republic and the Separatist Droid Army coming to a halt in the near future. For every victory the Republic made, there is an equal lose. In the midst of it all a Jedi Padawan is tasked with a command of her own, without the guidance of her master.Relying on her Regiment Commander, Gus, and the will of the force Ayelet Ebele must step up and take her place as Commander to do her part in ending the war and restore peace to the galaxy.





	1. Chapter 1: Warriors of Gold

.The smell of smoke and burning flesh enveloped my nostrils. Blue and red streaks flashed narrowly missed my head to meet target behind me. I can barely hear the sound of my armoured comrades fall around me above the constant gunfire. Their screams blending into the battle’s ambience. The sound of all the blasters, cannons and my lightsabers had blended into the all too familiar symphony of war that now constantly follows me. The war had grudged on for almost 2 years now and I can feel my sanity on the verge of extinction. Perhaps that's not such a bad thing in the current situation. I may at least be numb to this nightmarish dystopia. My eyes are unclear and sting, whether it is sweat dripping from my brow, blood trickling down my forehead or simply tears and exhaustion, I can't be sure. Perhaps it is a combination of all of them.

"I need to move. I need to see." Ayelet thought to herself as she spared a glance around her for a moment, noticing an overturned AV-7 Antivehicle Cannon to her side. Moving swiftly the young Jedi ran up the barrel to oversee the ensuing battle ahead. As she looked around all she could see was singed armour and stray limbs, once young men willing to sacrifice it all in the name of the Republic, now no longer recognisable as humans. The sight of the demising droid force ahead did little to reassure Ayelet that this plan was going t end successfully. 

Their enemy is mechanised and unemotional. The machines have no remorse, no empathy, no PTSD, and they never failed to kill on command. Men screamed in pain, clutching their grievous wounds as they advanced on the Separatist base. "Come on men. Push forward." A voice commanded above all the commotion, rally the closest troops to his side as they laid fire on the LM-432 Crab droid blocking their entry into the compound.

Ayelet leaped from her high position back into the midst of the battle, reflecting the red bolts as they approached her back towards the oncoming battle droids. Weaving with both haste and grace, Ayelet moved up towards the front lines, narrowly dodging a blaster bolt to the head as she crouched behind an uprooted tree between Major Blair who had called out earlier and his ever-constant companion Major Blaize.

"We're going to be blown to smithereens if we don't move." Major Blaize announced as Ayelet glanced over the trunk at the two crab droids guarding the entrance, providing cover fire for more battle droids to leave the compound.

"Because we have so many other options where we can move." Blair retorted, sparing a glance over at his friend for a single moment before rising back to his feet to fire upon the approaching droids with his trustworthy Z-6 cannon. Crouching back down when the immediate threat was eliminated.

Grabbing the DC-15x sniper rifle out of Blaize's hand Ayelet steadied the barrel on the overturned trunk, peering through the scope at the closest crab droid. "Ready with a grenade Captain Dane," Ayelet called to one of the clones behind her.

She quieted her mind still staring down the droid through the scope. Slowly releasing the air in her lungs, she closed her eyes, centring herself in the force, before pulling the trigger as soon as her eyes snapped back open. The blast of energy hit its mark, disabling the primary photoreceptor, causing the droid to turn towards their position, firing blindly in their general direction. 

On cue, the Captain threw two grenades towards the blinded droid. Reaching out with the force, Ayelet wrapped the thermal detonators, guiding them swiftly to rest just above the head of the crab droid. Counting silently in her mind, Ayelet timed the length of time before the grenade would explode, releasing her grasp around them when half a second remained. 

In a combination of fire, electrical sparks, and smoke, the droid tumbled over its long legs, smashing into the ground beneath it with a satisfying crash. The Clone's enthusiasm was impossible to go unnoticed, their voices and cheers coated with excitement and their signatures in the forces echoed their exterior display of joy. The moment was however short-lived as the other Crab droid turned its attention away from a small group of clones sheltering behind a boulder towards the celebrating clones instead.

Like a savage beast, the crab droid raced towards the small group of clones and their commander. "Run for it," Blaize announced to the group as he quickly raised to his feet. The command wasn't necessary as they all knew the immediate danger approaching them and imminent death they would meet if they didn't act quickly. 

The clones all moved back quickly, retreating behind a destroyed AT-TE, to put a temporary barrier between themselves at the incoming droid. Ayelet was already in the motion of running and joining the others behind the AT-TE before suddenly feeling a tug in the force causing her to glance behind her.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion as she watched Blair lose his footing in an unexpected hole in the ground, causing him to stumble forward onto his hands and knees. Without thinking Ayelet turned herself around, rushing back to the Major's position. She didn't need to look behind her as she felt the droid closing in on them while she wrapped her arms around Blair's arm and attempted to pull him up.

It's too late. Was all Ayelet could think as she felt the heavy vibrations in the ground beneath her as the crab droid grew closer to them, opening fire with its twin blasters. Major Blair had barely regained his balance when he felt his commander release her grip around him and instead drop down to one knee. Her hands reaching out in both directions in search of their desired objectives.

With her left hand, Ayelet closed her fist, her mind focusing on three thermal grenades that laid far from her reach, while her right hand reached out to summon a discarded blaster. As if pre-planned, the major watched as Ayelet threw the grenades towards the fast approaching droid and firing a single shot towards the detonators. An eruption of flames and sparked engulfed the droid as the blast met its mark, detonating the grenade as it flew above the crab droids head, setting off a chain reaction as the two other grenades exploded as a result of the original detonation.

"Overkill you moron." Was all Ayelet thought before she felt a sudden force throw her backward into a nearby rock as the crab droid exploded. She could feel the heat of the flames flow over her while her body flew uncontrollably backward from the force of the explosion. The bright reds and yellows of the flames and electrical sparks engulfed her vision and the smell of burning metal and smoke flooded her nostrils. Then she suddenly registered a sharp pain in the back of the head before being enveloped in a bliss sensation of nothingness as her vision and senses left her complete darkness.


	2. Chapter 2: Fate of the Faceless Ones

I've seen darkness before, the kind that makes our street like an old-fashioned photograph, everything a shade of grey. As a child, I used to wake in the night and wish for the sun. The darkness worried me; my imagination supplied many beasts with fantastical jaws to lurk beyond the range of my vision.

This isn't like that. This is the darkness that robs you of your best sense and replaces it with a paralysing fear. In this darkness I sit, muscles cramped and unable to move.

The sound of pure silence was like poison. The constant sound of battle was so natural that without it, Ayelet felt even more lost. She tried to call out into the abyss, but her mouth didn’t respond. Instead, the overwhelming taste of metal and bitterness flooded through her. The all too familiar taste of blood. Ayelet tried to spit out the unwelcome substance but was still lacking control as the attempt resulted in her to gauge the liquid, causing the fluid to splatter out of her mouth and deep down her throat.  
Ayelet coughed harshly in an attempt to remove the liquid coursing down her throat, blood splattering out of her mouth until her airway was finally clear. She took a deep breath that she didn’t realised she needed till now. The smell of her environment burned her nostrils and sent a feeling of nausea to her core was the aroma of burning metal and smoke mixed with the overpowering odour of burning flesh.

The overwhelming scent of destruction that engulfed her senses had left her aware of feeling returning to her body until she noticed a gentle tug on her arm that was becoming more forceful with each passing second. Quickly Ayelet discovered that everything seeming to feel stronger. She recognised the familiar spiky feeling of grass beneath her right hand, however, it felt like daggers piercing into her bare skin and the soft fabric of her under tunic beneath the lightweight armour felt scratchy, as though it was ripping into her flesh, while her chest piece felt light and a giant weight had been placed above her making it almost impossible to breathe properly.

There was a low buzzing sound that filled Ayelet’s ears, similar to that of static through the comms when their communications have been interrupted. She listened closely to the sound. Perhaps someone was trying to speak to her over her earpiece. Then suddenly, like a wave crashing down around her every sound invaded her eardrums making them ring in pain at the overwhelming noise.

Trying to centre herself Ayelet focused on what she could hear. There was the familiar sounds of blaster fire nearby and the cannons firing behind them. There were clones encouraging one another forward and commands being shouted. A medic was ordering clones to assist him as he attended to someone close. But nothing was louder than the booming sound of her name being called out. Her name. The majority of her men called her Commander or ma’am and some of the officers she’d grown friendships with would call her little Ebele. But only one amongst her men would call her by her given name. 

“Gus.” Her voice was slurred and barely above a whisper as she tried to call out to the clone. Reassurance flooded her as a strong hand took hold of her own. Slowly forcing her eyes to open, Ayelet almost immediately shit them again as the bright light of the outside world blinded her. Blinking away the discomfort her ice blue eyes slowly focused on the worried face staring down at her. 

Her expression softened into a small smile at the familiar and welcome sight of her commander. “Hey, Gus Gus,” Ayelet said quietly, feeling her vocal cords burning as she tried to speak. She swallowed hard to try and soothe the pain, regretting it immediately after as the taste of blood filled coated her taste buds. With a little more control of her body now, Ayelet turned herself to the side and spat out some of the blood still lingering in her mouth.

Her commander stared down at her through worried eyes, a pitiful smile on his lips as he listened to the Jedi’s delicate voice call out to him as though she hadn’t been thrown back 20 metres into a sharp rock and had been unresponsive for the past 4 minutes. Getting a little closer, Gus pulled Ayelet’s arm closer to him before injecting two stims into her forearm to speed up the healing process and provide her with some much-needed adrenaline.

Moving his hand down from its grip on her forearm to her hand while bringing himself up to stand above her. “Come on Commander. You’ve had your rest. Time to win this.” Gus proclaimed, his voice booming with resolve but Ayelet knew her Commander and could see the hint of sorrow in his eyes betraying his determined expression. Tightening her grip around the Clones offered hand, Ayelet pulled herself up to stand with her Commander.

The world seemed to sway as she raised to her feet, feeling the unwelcome sensation of nausea flooding her system as everything around her swirled uncontrollably. Ayelet closed her eyes, centring herself in the force and the moment. The force would guide her through this nightmare if she allowed herself to let go.

She sensed the lives of those around her, their pain and distress. They were lost, drifting through the battle without direction or certainty. Ayelet focused her mind, as she took a breath in, she concentrated on the negative emotions bubbling in her troops, and as she exhaled, she centralised on a sense of resolve and courage. Continuing the process silently, Ayelet could feel her men's determination and hope return to them, opening her eyes when she sensed a shift in the force in their favour.  
She felt as though she could collapse back down into the boulder she'd been resting against, the effort of manipulating the force around her troops significantly draining on her energy levels but pushed herself through it. Her troopers needed their commander and she needed them if they were to win this battle and succeed in their mission.

Turning her head towards her Commander, Ayelet stared at the clone with a sense of renewed purpose before taking a few steps forward towards the front line. She stopped suddenly as a tug in the force pulled her back, the familiar sensation filling her overwhelming concern as she quickly turned around to look for the Major.

Her wandering eyes fixated on the sight of two clones hovering above another. Major Blair's helmet had been discarded to the side as the medic worked quickly to stabilise the trooper and treat the burns down the left side of his face, while Major Blaize held down his friend that writhed and groaned in agony beneath his touch.

Before she could take a step closer the medic quickly turned towards her. "He'll be fine. Go help the others Ebele." Kit announced as if he could sense her approach and read her thoughts. Ayelet didn't budge for a moment as she stared down at her wounded comrade.  
"Look after him, okay?" Ayelet ordered, turning her attention to Major Blaize who meet her worried eyes, sharing a moment of concern for their friend before he nodded in response as Ayelet turned herself back towards the skirmish ahead. "Let's finish this."  
The two Commanders moved in perfect synchronisation towards the front lines of the Separatist base as if preforming a prepared dance. Ayelet moving with ease and grace as she deflected the red bolts that approached them while Gus stayed close to her side shooting down any droid in his sight with unmatched accuracy.

They moved with ease to the front lines sheltering temporarily behind the natural barriers the landscape provided. Peering into the base they both silently assessed the Separatist forces within the compound to quickly throw together a plan.   
"Listen up men. We have one shot at this. 172nd Battalion, you'll go with Commander Gus and approach from the rear. 173rd Battalion you will remain here as provide cover fire and hold back as reinforcements until called in. Battalions Valorous and Victorious you’re with me. We're going to walk straight into that compound and make them face us on our terms."

It wasn't much of a plan and it left a lot of room for failure, but they didn't have time to strategize. She could feel the unease in the troops, walking straight into an enemy base was like signing a death wish but they trusted their Commander as much as she trusted them to get the job done. With a final glance to her side to look at Gus, they shared a nod to signify they were ready and to wish each other luck. "May the force be with us."


	3. Chapter 3: Made for Duty

What is war?   
A three-lettered word that could obliterate everything. War tears people apart, even those who were once close as brothers. Victims of war are constantly drowned in tidal waves of guilt, regret, and pain. Pain isn't simple; it's physical, emotional, and mental; all victims of war feel all three types. In war, nowhere is safe. Nowhere.

Streaks of blue and red rushed past Ayelet’s head as they made their way further into the compound. The familiar hum of her yellow lightsaber centring her in the battle, providing her the much-needed sense of certainty as they ploughed through the enemies defences. They had the advantage of catching the opposing force off-guard. They didn’t expect the Clone army to come straight through the main entrance, but then again, the clones didn’t expect to either. But it seemed to work.

Their head-on approach had given them the element of surprise as well as a distraction for Gus and the 172nd to slip around the back of the compound, blowing a hole in the tall walls while the Separatists were distracted.

With Ayelet and her two battalions taking a majority of the fire from the enemy, the others were easily able to flank them from behind, destroying multiple droids each before the droids even noticed they were surrounded.   
After that everything seemed to play out as though it was their plan from the start, as the three Battalions worked together to finish off the droids while the fourth closed in behind them, taking out any stray droids. The battlefield grew quieter as the blaster fire slowly stopped and the cannons stopped firing. Soon all that remained was the sound of electrical sparks and the clattering of armour as the clones moved around the secure the area.

But the mission wasn’t over yet. Turning her attention upwards, Ayelet stared up at the central tower, their primary objective. “Apollo Squad, on me,” Ayelet called out over the comms as she approached the door controls, listening to the sound of nine clones quickly rush over to stand at attention behind her. 

Ayelet took a step to the side as the doors slide open, allowing the Clone troops to enter ahead of her before entering herself, Gus following closely behind. “How’s the head Commander?” the Captain at the back of the turbo lift asked as the doors closed and the squad began their ascent towards the command centre.

“Not as bad as your new haircut, Lynx,” Ayelet responded a joking tone lacing her tone and a playful smile painted on her lips. The reply caused the small group to laugh at the Captain's expense whom quickly grown silent beneath his helmet which hid his long hair that he normally styled into a bun atop his head.

The small space grew quiet again when they felt the turbo lift slow down as they approached their destination. The door opened with an audible woosh revealing a long empty corridor that ran horizontal to them. A clone close to the door attempted to take a step out into the seemingly deserted area towards the sealed door ahead of them. “Wait,” Ayelet ordered as she grabbed the clone’s forearm and pulled him forcefully back into the shelter of the turbo lift. As if on cue the doorways at both ends of the corridor opened, allowing a parade of B2-Super Battle Droids to enter from either side.

Closing her eyes and focusing herself in the moment Ayelet took a step towards the left doorway while igniting her twin lightsabers. In an instant she threw one lightsaber to her left before spinning to her right and kneeling as she threw her other saber in the new direction, manipulating them through the force as the sliced effortlessly through the torsos of the large droids, before pulling both hilts back towards her. Raising graceful from her kneeling position the hilts perfectly found their way into her palm, the blades deactivating as they entered her grasp.

“Show off,” Gus commented as he joined Ayelet in the hallway to stand beside her. “Jealousy I got all the fun to myself?” Ayelet questioned, the playful smile returning to her face as she looked up at the Clone Commander, imagining what his expression was beneath his helmet.

“Not quite,” Gus replied as he looked past Ayelet at the open doorway at the end of the hallway before quickly unholstering his blaster. Ayelet didn’t flinch as he fired two shots down the hallway towards a final B1 Battle droid, narrowly missing Ayelet’s head. Any closer and she would have had a blaster graze on her neck.

“I knew it was there.” Ayelet retorted in an almost childish manner causing the clones to quietly chuckle to themselves as they entered the hallway, before trying to stifle their laughter when Ayelet directed her gaze at them.

“Let’s get this over with then,” Ayelet stated as she accessed the door control. Looking back at the squad quickly to ensure they were ready for action she opened the door, watching the small band of clones move into the command centre and swiftly eliminate the remaining droids inside before setting out to complete their objective.

Each going to different consoles, the Clones began decoding and cyphering through the Separatist data, searching for anything relevant. The Captain's voice immediately drawing Ayelet’s attention. “Commander, I found something,” Lynx called out as Ayelet quickly crossed the room to stand beside him, looking down at the plans displayed on the screen.

“A planetary blockade. They must be growing desperate to increase their territory.” Ayelet said in response as she read through the information on the screen with concern lacing her tone as she thought about the ramifications of a planetary blockade would do to the innocent citizens of M'haeli. “gather everything you can from their data banks then rig the place to blow.” Ayelet announced as she made her way back to the turbo lift. 

Ayelet rode down the lift in pure silence considering what should be done about the blockade. Should I contact the Jedi Council now? Should I send a squad to investigate the planet first to assess if the plans were accurate? Should I gather my fleet and travel there immediately in hopes that the blockade was not fully established yet?

Taking a deep breath Ayelet remembered to centre herself as she cleared her mind and focused on the present and remaining in the moment. Exiting the turbo lift she took slow and thoughtful steps towards the entrance of the compound, gazing over the destruction that lay around her.

The battlefield lay quiet, for it was now a graveyard of the unburied. The corpses of her loyal men lay among the broken machinery of the enemy. Their hearts were as immobile as their limbs. Their souls had long departed to become one with the living force.

The sudden explosion above her drew her from her thoughts as she turned herself to look back up at the tower, admiring the bright red and golden flames that burst from the windows while thick smoke filled the sky, casting a dark shadow on the battlefield below.


	4. Chapter 4: Angel of Death

Ayelet couldn't help but compare the thick smoke with her state of mind. Just like those clouds, her insides were in chaos. A mess. Something was bothering her. Something was hurting her. Something ached inside her. Something felt so wrong.

Reaching down to her holo-communicator on her belt, she activated the communication device in attempts to contact their Ventor above for assistance. Ayelet knew some of her men were surviving on borrowed time and without access to proper medical facilities, they wouldn’t live to fight another day.  
A distorted image of the admiral appeared before her, the image and sound sporadically cutting in and out. “Admiral Noir? Admiral Noir, do you copy?” Ayelet asked as she watched the blue image flicker, indicating that the separatists were trying to block their communications.

“Ye----py Com---der. Alt----h no---s not - good time.” The reply was choppy and almost cryptic as the blue hologram of the Admiral phased in and out of existence. The sound of chaos in the background almost overpowered the man's voice.  
“Admiral we need to get these men out of here now. If we can’t get out of here now all that will be coming back aboard is body bags.” Ayelet ordered, her voice filled with authority and control. She owed it to her men to get them out of the mess she’d thrown them into. They trusted her to not throw their lives away, now was her time to repay their trust by getting them home safely.  
“Und-----d, Com-----ele.” The Admiral replied before the commlink went dead, the blue image dissipating to nothing. Then that familiar feeling resurfaced. The burning feeling inside telling her something was wrong. But the battle was over. Her men were safe. They were by no means out of the woods yet, but at least there were no more droids firing hell upon them.  
She sensed Gus approaching her and could feel the question on his lips before he had a chance to ask it. Her worry must have been obvious. “I don’t know what’s wrong. But something is. Something is horribly wrong.” Ayelet answered before Gus opened his mouth to speak. She looked over the battlefield around her, littered with the corpses of her lost troops and the wind carried the cries of agony of those left wounded.  
The force was crying out in pain as hundreds around her were left wounded by the battle. But what was worse than feeling the ongoing suffering of her men was the emptiness that she felt, left behind by those that had left the physical world and become one with the living force. Knowing that they were in peace now and were no longer suffering did little to ease Ayelet’s mind.  
Then a sudden pain like lightsaber piercing her chest engulfed her body causing her to nearly double over in pain and her face twist into a grimace of agony. Ayelet pulled herself back to a standing position before stumbling backward until her back met the metallic walls of the Separatist command tower, her head turning upwards to the sky above. “Oh, you poor thing.” Ayelet breathed as she tried to reclaim control of her breathing.

“Ayelet? Ayelet what is it? What’s wrong.” Gus’ voice seemed to echo around her, as though she were lost in a long dark tunnel. It wasn’t until she felt Gus strongly grip her forearms and begin shaking her that she was able to bring her eyes down to lock with his worried stare.

“They’re gone, Gus. They’re gone.” Was all she was able to muster out before the sound of gunship washed out the sound of her weak voice. “Stay present. Stay in the moment. Stay now.” Ayelet repeated to herself, trying desperately to regain control of herself before she spiralled out of control.

“Get the critically injured onto the first ships that land. They need to be evacuated immediately. We’ll sort through the major injuries as they are loaded on. Minor injuries will go last.” Ayelet announced the orders as if nothing had just happened. Hoping that if she at least sounded in control, she may feel in control. It wasn’t working.

She pushed Gus’ grip off her as she marched towards the troops gathered at the edge of the compound, while the rest of Apollo squad who had silently watched the Commander’s breakdown from a short distance away quickly followed behind her to follow her instruction.

Within minutes the first wave of gunships were over-crowded with the most injured troops to be immediately taken to the medical facilities provided on the Ventors orbiting the planet, as they turned their attention towards the less critical injuries. However, before Ayelet could step off the gunship Gus grabbed her arm again and held her in place. “Commander you need to go up and get checked out yourself,” Gus instructed as he pushed the Jedi backward towards a small crate for her to sit on.

“Gus, I’m fine. Those men need me. I can’t take the attention away from them when they need it most.” Ayelet argued as she tried to push her way past the clone back out into the compound, but the Commander wouldn’t budge, instead, he applied more force to keep her in place before kneeling in front of her to match her eye level.

“Ayelet, please. You took a serious blow to the head. There was a lot of blood and you were completely unresponsive. I know you Jedi are stubborn and that your pumped full of stims right now, but you need medical attention. Please.” Gus pleaded. Ayelet could feel his worry for her washing over in waves through the force. She couldn’t say no. Not to him. Dropping her head and closing her eyes to avoid his gaze she slowly nodded her head.

She felt his grip slowly release her as he moved his right hand up to rest momentarily on her shoulder. Ayelet reached up with her own hand to hold his in place, relishing in the comfort and support he provided her before feeling his hand move away as he back out of the ship, finally allowing it to depart.

There was so much pain crammed into such a small ship, it was almost impossible for Ayelet to breath through. Her eyes wandered the small area, glancing over the injured clones who had basic medical bandages trapped to their wounds and blood splattered over their armour. Whether it was their own or those that had fallen around them Ayelet couldn’t bring herself to think of. Her gaze locked onto a Captain clenching at his side as his face twisted with agony and pained whimpers escaped his mouth.

Raising from her make-shift seat Ayelet carefully made her way over to her the Captain. Looking over his condition as she approached. There was a gaping wound to his left side, although a medi-patch had been placed his blood soaked through the barrier quickly as it began to stain the stretcher beneath him. His face was almost the same shade as his once white armour and the eyes had darkened with despair.

Ayelet gently grabbed onto both of his hands to pull them away from the wound he was unconsciously aggravating. She held them tightly with her right hand while reaching her left hand up to cup his face. He was so cold, and she could feel the force draining from him. She wished there was more she could do for him.

Some Jedi had mastered that art of healing another through the force. Bringing back those on the brink of death to full health. However, Ayelet was not one of those Jedi. Every Jedi had the ability to learn such powers and perfect it with time and training. But Ayelet never had a talent for healing sentient beings, and a few years ago Ayelet wouldn’t have thought the skill as necessary. Now she deeply regretted her choices in electives offered at the temple, wishing she'd focused more on the needs of people than that of plants and animals that she may encounter on her adventures. All she could do was be there for the Captain. Let him know that he was alone when the end came.

Every few minutes he would scream, not like one of those guys in the holo-movies being tortured, but worse. It had a raw quality, the realness of a person consumed by a pain that knew no end or limit. Then he would go quiet, just panting. She held onto him tighter, calling upon the force to get them to the hanger quicker.

Then she felt it. The all too familiar feeling of another soul becoming one with the living force. The Captain’s hand went limp in her grasp and his empty eyes stared straight into hers. She was so fixated on the missing presence of the clone beneath her she didn’t notice the gunship land in the hanger, or the troopers quickly rushing into the ship to assist their brothers to the medical bay, or the hot tears streaming down her face.

“I’m sorry Commander. He’s gone.” A voice beside her called, she hadn’t sensed the Clone walk up beside her. She watched helplessly as the Trooper pushed the stretcher out of the gunship to join his fallen comrades. Slowly stepping off the ship onto the steady floor of the Ventors hanger Ayelet's eyes wandered over to the hanger doors, staring deeply into the stars above her. Debris of both republic and separatist ships were scattered through the emptiness of space.

But Ayelet’s eyes locked onto the sight of the destroyed Arquinten. She could still feel the echoes of their pain as the ship exploded and the sudden end of all the men inside along with the Saros Xander, Master Shryne’s Padawan. The Jedi Master and Padawan were in charge of eliminating the Separatist’s naval forces while Ayelet managed the ground assault. 

Ayelet could hardly call the outcome of this battle a victory. Despite eventually winning, it was nothing short of a massacre. Too many lives were senselessly lost to poor planning. A fault that Ayelet could only blame on herself.  
Stumbling out of the hanger she detoured from her path to the medical ward, instead of heading straight for her personal quarters. She entered quickly before anyone would notice her and locked the door.

Leaning her back against the cold metallic door she allowed her body to slowly slide down to the ground, the pain in her head returning as she leaned it back against the locked door, before finally letting go of all the emotions that had bottled up inside her. Hot tears streamed down her face as she quietly whimpered in a combination of pain and grief.


End file.
